Registration of applications for international protection in situations of crisis, or force majeure
1. In a situation of crisis or force majeure , by way of derogation from Article 27 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, the Member State facing that situation may register applications made within the period during which this paragraph is applied, no later than four weeks after those applications are made.
2. When applying paragraph 1, the Member State concerned shall prioritise the registration of applications of persons with special reception needs as defined in Directive (EU) 2024/1346 and of minors and their family members.
3. When applying paragraph 1, Member States may prioritise the registration of applications which are likely to be well-founded.
4. In a situation of crisis as referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), the derogation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may only be applied during the time period set out in the initial Council implementing decision referred to in Article 4(3) and not during any subsequent extensions thereof pursuant to Article 5(1) or (2).
5. In accordance with Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2024/1346 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, Member States shall ensure that applicants are able to access and exercise their rights under those instruments in an effective manner as soon as they make an application, regardless of when the registration takes place. The Member State concerned shall duly inform the third-country nationals or stateless persons in a language which they understand, or are reasonably supposed to understand, about the measure applied, the location of the registration points, including the border crossing points accessible for registering and lodging an application for international protection, and the duration of the measure.
6. When submitting a reasoned request as referred to in Article 2(1), a Member State may notify the Commission that it considers it necessary to apply the derogation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article before it is authorised to do so in the Council implementing decision as referred to in Article 4(3), indicating the precise reasons for which immediate action is required.
In such a case, the Member State concerned may apply the derogation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article for a period not exceeding 10 days from the day following the date of the submission of the request, unless the Council implementing decision as referred to in Article 4(3) authorises the Member State concerned to continue to apply that derogation.
7. The extension of the time limit for registration of applications for international protection is without prejudice to the obligations to comply with the deadlines set out in Article 15(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1358.
Measures applicable to the asylum border procedure in a situation of crisis or force majeure
1. In a situation of crisis or force majeure , Member States may, as regards applications made within the period during which this Article is applied, derogate from Article 51(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, by extending the maximum duration of the border procedure for the examination of applications set out in that Article by an additional period of maximum six weeks. That period shall not be used in addition to the period referred to in Article 51(2), third subparagraph, of that Regulation.
2. In a situation of crisis as referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), or force majeure , by way of derogation from Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, Member States may not be required to examine, in a border procedure, applications made by applicants referred to in Article 42(1), point (j), of that Regulation, when the measures in the contingency plan of the concerned Member State referred to in Article 32 of Directive (EU) 2024/1346 are not sufficient to address that situation.
3. In a situation of crisis as referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), by way of derogation from Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, Member States may reduce the threshold provided for in Article 42(1), point (j), to 5 %.
4. In a situation of crisis as referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), by way of derogation from Article 44(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, Member States may, in a border procedure, take decisions on the merits of an application in cases where the applicant is a national or, in the case of stateless persons, a former habitual resident of, a third country for which the proportion of decisions granting international protection by the determining authority is, according to the latest available yearly Union-wide average Eurostat data, 50 % or lower, in addition to the cases referred to in Article 42(1), point (j), of that Regulation, taking into account the rapidly evolving protection needs that might arise in the country of origin as reflected in quarterly updates of Eurostat data.
5. When applying paragraph 3 or 4 of this Article, the Member State concerned shall prioritise the examination of applications for international protection lodged by persons with special procedural or special reception needs as defined in Directive (EU) 2024/1346 and in Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, and minors and their family members. When applying paragraph 3, 4 or 6 of this Article, the Member State concerned may also prioritise the examination of application for international protection s which are likely to be well-founded.
6. In a situation of crisis as referred to in Article 1(4), point (b), by way of derogation from Article 44(1), point (b), and Article 53(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, Member States may, in a border procedure, take decisions on the merits of all applications that are made by any third-country national or stateless person who is subject to instrumentalisation and that are registered within the period during which this paragraph is applied.
7. When applying paragraph 6, Member States shall:
(a)
exclude from the border procedure minors under the age of 12 and their family members, and persons with special procedural or special reception needs as defined in Directive (EU) 2024/1346 and in Regulation (EU) 2024/1348; or
(b)
cease to apply the border procedure in respect of the following categories of applicants where it is determined, on the basis of an individual assessment, that their applications are likely to be well-founded:
(i)
minors under the age of 12 and their family members; and
(ii)
vulnerable persons with special procedural or special reception needs as defined in Directive (EU) 2024/1346 and in Regulation (EU) 2024/1348.
This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the mandatory nature of the border procedure as referred to in Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348.
8. Where the Member State concerned is authorised to apply the derogation referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article, the Council implementing decision as referred to in Article 4(3) shall specify whether paragraph 7, point (a) or (b), applies, based on the indication made by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 2(2), point (d).
9. The Member State facing a situation of crisis or force majeure shall not apply or shall cease to apply the derogation from the asylum procedure provided for in paragraphs 4 and 6 of this Article in cases where there are medical reasons for not applying the border procedure in accordance with Article 53(2), point (d), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, or where the necessary support cannot be provided to applicants with special reception needs in accordance with Directive (EU) 2024/1346 or with special procedural needs in accordance with Article 53(2), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348.
10. For the purpose of applying the derogations referred to in this Article, the basic principles of the right to asylum and the respect of the principle of non-refoulement, as well as the guarantees provided for in Chapters I and II of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 shall apply to ensure that the rights of those who seek international protection, including the right to an effective remedy, are protected.
Organisations and persons permitted under national law to provide advice and counselling shall have effective access to applicants held in detention facilities or present at border crossing points. Member States may impose limits to such actions where, by virtue of national law, they are objectively necessary for the security, public order or administrative management of a detention facility, provided that access is not thereby severely restricted or rendered impossible.
11. The derogations provided for in this Article do not affect the process of determining the Member State responsible within the framework of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351. Where that process is longer than the maximum duration of the asylum border procedure in a situation of crisis or force majeure , the process and the remainder of the asylum procedure shall be completed in the territory of the determining Member State in accordance with Article 51 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348.
Extension of time limits set out for take charge requests, take back notifications and transfers in a situation of crisis referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), or force majeure
1. In a situation of crisis as referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), or force majeure which renders it impossible for a Member State facing such a situation to comply with the time limits set out in Articles 39, 40, 41 and 46 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 or to receive persons for whom it is responsible pursuant to that Regulation, Member States may derogate from the time limits set out in Articles 39, 40, 41 and 46 of that Regulation simultaneously.
2. Where a Member State applies the derogation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall:
(a)
submit a take charge request as referred to in Article 39 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 within four months of the date on which the application was registered;
(b)
reply to a take charge request as referred to in Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 within two months of receipt of the request;
(c)
submit a take back notification as referred to in Article 41 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 within one month of receiving the Eurodac hit or confirm receipt within one month of such notification; and
(d)
carry out a transfer as referred to in Article 46(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 within one year of the acceptance of the take charge request or of the confirmation of the take back notification by another Member State or of the final decision on an appeal or review of a transfer decision that has suspensive effect in accordance with Article 43(3) of that Regulation.
3. If the Member State referred to in paragraph 1 does not comply with the time limits set out in paragraph 2, point (a), (b) or (d), of this Article, the responsibility for examining the application for international protection pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 shall lie with it or be transferred to it.
4. Where paragraph 1 of this Article is applied, transfers pursuant to Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 to the Member State responsible that faces a situation of crisis as referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), of this Regulation or force majeure , shall not be carried out until that Member State is no longer facing that situation, unless, due to the individual circumstances of the applicant, the responsible Member State has agreed to receive the person concerned. If the transfer does not take place within one year of the acceptance of the take charge request or of the confirmation of the take back notification by another Member State or of the final decision on an appeal or review of a transfer decision that has suspensive effect in accordance with Article 43(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, including due to the persistence of the situation of crisis referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), of this Regulation or force majeure , by way of derogation from Article 46(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, the Member State responsible, facing that situation, shall be relieved of its obligations to take charge of or to take back the person concerned and responsibility shall be transferred to the transferring Member State.
Derogations from the obligation to take back an applicant in a situation of extraordinary mass arrivals
1. By way of derogation from Article 36(1), point (b), and Article 38(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, in a situation of crisis as referred to in Article 1(4), point (a), of this Regulation where the mass arrivals of third-country nationals or stateless persons are of such extraordinary scale and intensity that it could create a serious risk of serious deficiencies in the treatment of applicants, thereby creating a serious risk that the Common European Asylum System is rendered non-functional, the Member State facing that situation may be relieved of its obligation to:
(a)
take back an applicant, a third-country national or stateless person in relation to whom that Member State has been indicated as the Member State responsible under Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1358 where that responsibility was determined pursuant to Article 16(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351; or
(b)
take back an applicant pursuant to Article 38(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351.
This paragraph shall only apply where the application was registered in the Member State facing that situation within the period set out in the Council implementing decision referred to in Article 4(3) of this Regulation which shall not exceed four months before the date of adoption of that Council implementing decision.
2. Where paragraph 1 of this Article is applied, and the Member State facing that situation was determined as responsible pursuant to Article 16(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, that Member State shall be relieved of its obligation to take back the person concerned and responsibility shall be transferred to the Member State where the second application was registered.
The Member State that becomes responsible pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall indicate in Eurodac that it has become the Member State responsible in accordance with Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1358.
3. By way of derogation from paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article 38 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, where paragraph 1 of this Article is applied and the Member State facing that situation is obliged to take back an applicant pursuant to Article 38(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, the Member State where the second application is registered shall apply the procedures set out in Part III of that Regulation, with the exception of Article 16(2), Article 17(1) and (2), Article 25(5) and Article 33(1) and (2), and the obligation to take back an applicant pursuant to Article 38(4) shall be transferred to that Member State.
Where no Member State responsible can be determined under the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Member State where the second application was registered shall be responsible for examining the application for international protection. Applications for international protection for which a Member State has sent a take back notification pursuant to Article 41 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 before the date of adoption of the Council implementing decision referred to in Article 4(3) of this Regulation shall not be affected by this subparagraph.
The Member State that becomes responsible pursuant to the second subparagraph of this paragraph shall indicate in Eurodac that it has become the Member State responsible in accordance with Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1358.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
